Attending college opens up so many different opportunities for you. You have the option to join a multitude of different clubs, you get to meet a wide variety of people, and have the chance to pick classes where you can learn anything and everything from Latin Ballroom Dancing to Global Politics. One incredible opportunity that being a college student gives you is the prospect of studying abroad. It is an opportunity that you shouldn’t take for granted. Not only will you get to travel and have an experience of a lifetime, but you’ll get to experience firsthand the vastness of the world. Who knows, you could fall in love with your destination and your life could be changed forever. As I’ve heard from many students who have studied abroad, their semester (or year) of going to school in another part of the world was not just a scholastic adventure, but their eyes were opened to just how different students, schools, and communities can really be when compared to their home country, and that can end up being some of the most important learning you’ll do while away.
My friend Kali attended The University of Minnesota and near the end of her college career she decided to hop a plane and spend a semester in Australia. She attended James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, and it was most definitely a life changing decision. Obviously she learned a lot in her field of study, but the experience of living abroad and the differences of life and school down under were what she was truly amazed by. She found that, “self motivation [though important in any schooling] is extremely important here. On average you may have one paper, one mid semester exam and one final exam per class. The final exam is worth between 50-65% of your grade”. She stated that, “That was a huge shock for me.” When that type of grading is compared to your average U.S. university, for example my Spanish final is worth a mere 15% of my final grade, I think I would be a little shocked too. The grading style was only the beginning of the many differences Kali found at her new university abroad.
The professors where quite a surprise as well, Kali told me that she, “found that the professors were less inviting… James Cook is known for its research. Many of the professors were more interested in researching their own projects. [She] didn’t find that they loved teaching with the exception of one professor who was American”. She dealt with a different style of teaching and thus a different style of learning. She stated, “Many times I did not know what to study”. She said that with this style of teaching, more than half of the questions on her finals were from numerous years’ worth of past exams which the professors had handed out. Because of this she noticed that everyone just seemed to memorize those past exams and that she, “didn’t feel as though [she] was actually learning”. During finals week, which lasts for two straight weeks (with one week off before hand to prepare) “everyone just shuts their doors and doesn’t come out until it’s all over. Cram Time!” Despite those few weeks though, Kali noticed an interesting feel to the student environment.
Kali stated that, “as for living on college (dorms) it is a crazy experience. They have resident advisors for each floor or block. They also have a college president. Everyone is of legal age to drink. O week (Orientation) is the week before classes. You drink/party/dance with your college and get to know everyone. There is a bar on campus in the main Union building. Throughout the year they set up pub crawls, formals, and getaways for everyone on college. It’s a really great way to meet everyone. They also have fisher shield sports. In Queensland Universities don’t compete against each other. The different dorms [do], every semester. Anyone and everyone can play. It was really fun to cheer everyone on from your dorm. If you win the fisher shield a plaque hangs in the winning team’s Dining Hall. There is an amazing amount of togetherness on college. I never had that experience back home”. The entire process of studying abroad is unlike anything else. You get to experience a different university and an entirely different sense of community. Kali says, “It’s hard to explain because it was such a different experience compared to my home Uni. I think it was difficult to study because I was having the time of my life with my friends”. While there, Kali not only fell in love with the beauty of Australia, but she also met her current Aussie beau, Sean. “He was a bit of a distraction”.
Kali has since graduated from The University of Minnesota with her degree in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and has recently made the big move to Australia. She currently lives near where she studied abroad and is taking time off from school while Sean finishes his degree. She plans to go back to school in a couple of years and hopefully she can get in on another difference in the schooling system that she learned about. It involves debts for students in Australia and is called the “HECS debt for students… It deducts from your pay only when you start earning above $41,000 per year. It’s great for students especially if you are starting out at a low wage for a while.”
Kali’s studying abroad story is just like every other study abroad story in the sense that they are all different and unique. Whether you plan to go to Australia, Mexico, Sweden, or Africa you are bound to learn new and interesting things, make new and wonderful friends and have an experience that you can’t get any other way. Studying abroad is a great idea not just for all of the previously mentioned reasons, but it can also help to set you apart from your peers when you are finally out in the “real world”. Those that study abroad have the chance to gain a wider view of the world and a better understanding of life in general. If you are at all interested in doing a few weeks abroad, a semester, or even an entire year the process to get going is as easy as contacting your school’s study abroad program office. Here at Western you can get a hold of them by calling the WMU Study Abroad Haenicke Institute at 269-387-5890 or stop in any time to ask questions and see a schedule of their information sessions at 2425 Ellsworth Hall on the WMU campus.